


Apathy Aftermath

by BunniesofDoom



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Exhaustion, F/F, Friendship, Headaches & Migraines, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Slight Canon Divergence, Team as Family, Volume 6 (RWBY), let! Ruby! sleep!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:35:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29829864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom
Summary: As much as she tries to hide it, Ruby feels incredibly drained in the aftermath of dealing with the Apathy.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Ruby Rose & Weiss Schnee & Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose & Yang Xiao Long
Kudos: 50





	Apathy Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little something I wished had happened after they faced the Apathy in Volume 6. Enjoy!

As much as she tries to hide it, Ruby feels incredibly drained in the aftermath of dealing with the Apathy. In hindsight, she's surprised she managed to hold out as long as she did in face of the overwhelming urge to do nothing, especially after seeing how quickly the others had fallen to the Grimms' influence. Did she manage to resist because of sheer willpower, or was it something else about her, like her silver eyes?

Thinking about it too much makes her head hurt. It's been pounding dully since she used her eyes to defeat the Grimm. Now that they've made it out of danger and have arrived in Argus, there's nothing Ruby would like to do than lie down and sleep for a few days, but they don't have any time for that. She puts on a happy face for their reunion with Jaune, Ren, and Nora, and then they're introduced to Jaune's older sister.

Jaune and the others have been staying at the house owned by his sister and her wife, Terra Cotta. The couple is happy to let them stay as well, which is a relief. At least they won't have to go looking for a hotel or something while they're in Argus, although they really shouldn't be staying here long. They'll need to start looking for a ship to take them to Atlas. And in the meantime, now that Ruby knows about Maria's past as the Grimm Reaper, she should be grilling the older huntress so she can learn how to use her powers better. And—

Clearly there's a lot to do, and no time to just be sitting around, no matter how tired she feels. But despite her best efforts to focus on planning, as soon as she's gotten some food in her stomach, Ruby quickly finds herself dozing off, lulled by the sounds of the lively conversations around her. Again and again, she pries her heavy eyelids open, but eventually she finds herself drifting off for good.

When the other members of her team go to check in with Ruby, they're not terribly surprised to find her fast asleep. 'She did seem pretty tired earlier," Blake says with a fond smile.

"Yeah," Yang agrees, brushing her sister's hair out of her face gently. Ruby doesn't stir. "Poor kid must be worn out from taking out those Grimm. Those weird glowy eye powers seem to take a lot out of her."

"I'm just amazed that she managed to hold out against the Apathy for so long." There's a trace of awe in Weiss' voice. "I have no idea how she did it."

"What can I say?" Yang shrugs. "My little sis is something special. Carefully, with the ease borne of years of practice, she transfers Ruby from the couch to her arms in one fluid motion, without disturbing the sleeping girl. "I'm going to go ahead and take her up to the room we're staying in," Yang says, adjusting her hold that she has Ruby in a sort of bridal carry. "Hopefully, Rubes will wake up in a few hours and we can talk about what we should do tomorrow."

And so, she does exactly that, removing Ruby's boots and depositing her on one of the beds and covering her with a blanket before leaving her alone to rest. She figures Ruby will be up soon, and she'll coming bounding down the stairs raring to go, scolding them for letting her sleep for so long.

But Ruby doesn't wake up. She sleeps through the rest of the afternoon, and she doesn't even stir when they call her down for dinner, which is incredibly unlike her. Despite their earlier optimism, as the sky outside darkens and Ruby remains deeply asleep, her friends begin to worry about her.

The atmosphere is tense as they get ready for bed. Ruby continues to sleep on under the covers, snoring softly, her face peaceful, but Weiss, Blake, and Yang feel anything but peaceful.

"So, what should we do?" Weiss is the one to finally speak up and break the tense silence that has fallen over them.

"Well, we agreed to go with Nora and the others to the base tomorrow to the base," Yang says dully, removing her arm and setting it on the bedside table. "And if Ruby is awake by then, she can join us."

"And if she isn't?" Blake asks quietly.

"I don't know," Yang admits softly.

"I guess we'll have to come up with something," Weiss says unenthusiastically, her expression downcast.

"Yang, are you okay?" Blake turns to her partner with anxious eyes.

"Yeah, it's just—" Yang sighs heavily. "I told you guys after the fall of Beacon, how Ruby was out for a while, right?" When they all nod, she continues. "Well, this just reminds me a lot of back then. Brings back a lot of bad memories. I just hope she wakes up soon."

"Oh, Yang." Blake pulls her in for a hug. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sure that Ruby will be awake soon," Weiss says, hoping that she sounds more confident than she feels. She clears her throat. "Anyway, sitting around worrying all night isn't going to help. We should get to bed."

The three girls wish each other goodnight. Despite how tired they feel, it takes them a while to fall asleep, between worry for Ruby and apprehension for what tomorrow might bring.

When she wakes up the next morning, well-rested and headache-free, Ruby is mortified that she slept for so long. After a surprise tackle-hug from her very worried teammates, she eagerly agrees to join the others to go to the Atlas base. After all, she's got to make up for lost time.

Whatever comes next, they'll face it together.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it.
> 
> Just a reminder that I do take requests for fics, so if there's an idea that you'd like to see me write, feel free to message me and if I like it, I might end up writing something for it. Also, if you like one of my ideas and want to write your own fic for it, feel free! I'm not possessive with my ideas, and most of my writing is self-indulgent anyway, so all that I ask is that you let me know so I can read it.


End file.
